After the recent National Awards announcements, many were surprised that Blessy’s survival drama Aadujeevitham – The Goat Life didn’t receive any recognition. Prithviraj Sukumaran, who earned widespread praise for his role as Najeeb, was also overlooked. However, after winning the People’s Choice Award for the film at the BOTIM Onamamangam 2025 event in Sharjah, UAE, Prithviraj made a point about how movies aren’t made just to please award juries.

Speaking after his win, Prithviraj seemed to address the National Awards snub, saying, “A film isn’t made for a handful of people to sit and judge it. Nor is it only for international festivals, even though those are important.” He emphasized that Aadujeevitham had already won its biggest prize — the love and appreciation of the audience. “At the end of the day, films are for the people who buy tickets and come to theaters. In that sense, the viewers have already given Aadujeevitham its greatest award. For that, I’m truly grateful.”

Earlier this year, Prithviraj also won Best Actor at SIIMA 2025 for his role in the film.

Aadujeevitham is a survival drama written, directed, and co-produced by Blessy. It’s based on Benyamin’s 2008 best-selling Malayalam novel, inspired by the true story of a Malayali laborer stuck in Saudi Arabia. The film faced many challenges during production, finally starting filming in 2018. In 2020, Prithviraj and the crew got stranded in Jordan due to COVID-19 restrictions and had to be evacuated by the Indian government. The film was released in theaters in March 2024 and went on to earn ₹157.35 crore worldwide, making it one of Malayalam cinema’s biggest hits.

Prithviraj was last seen in L2 Empuraan—which he also directed—and the Netflix film Sarzameen*. He’s now gearing up for upcoming projects including SSMB 29, Vilayath Buddha, and Daayra.